Talia's Rants

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Welcome!

Hello and welcome to Talia's Rants. For a long time there's been things that I see on the boards and onsite that can confuse, annoy, anger, and sadden me - so I created this page to contain my little rants. This page will probably be updated every 2 or 3 weeks depending on time and mood.

Updated March 13, 2012

Ulterior Motives

As many people know, I lurk the HC quite often although I seem to actually post less and less and I have seen a wide variety of boards. Simply said, people create boards for different reasons. Some have geniune questions, others want opinions, still others are seeking attention, and there are those who simply want to chat. While some of these reasons are more accepted than others, there is one group of individuals whom I find the most annoying - the people who make veiled boards.

A veiled board is one in which the OP is trying to hide the true inention of their board. Usually what they really want to do is to ask for items either directly or indirectly or advertise a entry for the Beauty Contest. Since is begging is not only frowned upon but is also reportable, people can't do it openly so they try to hide their actions beneath a question. All too often, it is very clear what they are trying to do, but they will often act ignorant if confronted.

There are three major types of veiled boards in my experience. The first is veiled begging boards. This type usually has a person telling a sob story about how they were scammed, how they lost items in a glitch or to the Pant Devil, or about some real life drama. In many cases, their stories are fake and, while they rarely ask for items directly, there is a hope that someone will feel sorry for them and give them something. Unfortunately, this is very common. There is also variations such as a person stating it is their birthday. They'll ask some random question about the birthday theme or REs, but in truth they know the answer. They just want birthday presents from strangers.

The second type is advertising boards. The most common is for Beauty Contest entries, but I have also seen it used for the Caption Competition. Basically, you aren't supposed to create boards asking for votes outside of the appropriate forum, but these individuals want to advertise as much as possible. They put a link to their entry in their siggy, which is fine, and then post as much as possible even if they aren't saying anything of importance. They will create boards that have little to no purpose - asking nonsensical questions or things to which they already know the answer. Often you see people placing in the BC which entries that aren't as artistic as others and that is sometimes due to advertising.

The third type is ranting or complaining boards. A person will ask what appears to be a legitimate question but it's actually a springboard for some complaint. For example, they might ask about the NC mall only because they want to turn around and complain about the use of NC. The question they ask is usually loaded, but I want to note that this is different than a troll board. A troll may be trying to lead people into a circular argument for fun, but the veiled complaining board is a person who is genuinely mad and wants to complain.

What really annoys me is the dishonesty of these boards. A spammer may be looking to have fun by annoying people or seeking attention, but at least they are honest about what they want. Veiled boards are simple lies. Instead of stating what they want exactly, they talk around it and drop enough hints hoping that others will catch on. All too often, it works. You see sympathy seekers given presents and items. Those in the BC get votes. What's worse is they can hide behind their fake questions. Of course, they are caught at times and their boards are deleted or locked.

There's not a lot to do about these boards. You can report if you feel it's necessary or you can ignore. I suppose in the end, it's important to take time to think about why a person may have made a board. While it's impossible to always know what another person is thinking, it's an interesting thing to consider.